The Boston Red Sox were mostly quiet this past offseason but did make two noteworthy trades. One of them, the deal that saw them send Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves, could not have aged worse even if it made a lot of sense at the time. The other one, the trade that saw Boston acquire Tyler O’Neill, could not have aged much better.
The Red Sox acquired O’Neill, a talented player with durability concerns who had fallen out of favor in the St. Louis Cardinals organization for relatively nothing, and have watched him put up one of the best seasons of his career.
As a result of all that has gone right in the deal, O’Neill, a free agent at the end of the 2024 season, expressed very clearly that he’d like to remain in Boston long-term.
At this point, with all he has done since the deal, Craig Breslow must oblige.
Red Sox should listen to Tyler O’Neill and re-sign him ASAP
O’Neill has always had tremendous potential, as evidenced by his MVP-caliber 2021 campaign, but he had trouble staying on the field and staying consistent during his six seasons with St. Louis. While he has missed some time this season due to injury and has slumped at times, O’Neill has been mostly awesome when he’s been able to play.
The 29-year-old entered Wednesday’s game slashing .251/.344/.536 with 31 home runs and 61 RBI in 106 games played. Despite missing 45 games due to injury and not having enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title, O’Neill ranks tied for 15th in the majors in home runs as of this writing and in the top 10 of the AL. He strikes out a lot and hasn’t played the best defense, but his power bat has played extremely well for this Red Sox team.
O’Neill is a great player who’d fit just about anywhere other than St. Louis, but he’s an even better fit for the Red Sox for one reason in particular – he’s a right-handed hitter. This might not be that big of a deal in most situations, but with how left-handed heavy Boston is, O’Neill is such a crucial player to add a little bit of balance.
The Red Sox have several left-handed stars like Rafael Devers, Triston Casas, and Jarren Duran (to name a few), so being able to plug O’Neill, a player who has a 1.188 OPS against lefties this season and a .925 OPS against southpaws in his career into the middle of the lineup has been a tremendous luxury for Alex Cora.
The Red Sox are incredibly deep in the outfield with Duran, Wilyer Abreu, and top prospect Roman Anthony very close to debuting, but O’Neill is a star player who has fit in perfectly that Boston would regret letting go elsewhere.
He wants to stay, the Red Sox could use him, and they should have the funds to pay him. Get it done, Craig.
